Balance: Achieving a Wuji State

I sometimes struggle with a body state where my body energy seems to be low, while my mind is overactive. I have looked at Yoga, Jin (compassion) Shin (spirit) Do (Tao), and Qigong as possible ways to achieve balance. I think all three share a common base, though it is easy to get lost in definitions.

The following is a very long quotation from The Essence of Taiji Qigong by Dr. Yang, Jwin-Ming. I read this a few times over many years without really grasping the meaning. The last time I read it it struck me that a lot of things would fall into place if I understood this properly and put into practice. There may not be a better explanation of how Yin and Yang, Kan and Li, Fire Qi and Water Qi, Xin and Yi are involved to create a balance Wuji state.

You will be rewarded for spending some time reading, contemplating, and learning to practice the wisdom of the following text:

Chapter 2: The Root of Taijiquan-Yin and Yang

KAN AND LI

The terms Kan and Li occur
frequently in Qigong
documents. In the
Eight Trigrams Kan represents "Water " while Li represents "Fire." However, the everyday
terms for water and fire are
also often used.
Kan and Li training has long been of major importance to Qigong practi­ tioners. In order to understand why, you must understand these two words,
and the theory behind them.

First you should understand
that though Kan-Li and Yin-Yang
are related, Kan and Li are not Yin and Yang. Kan is Water, which is able to cool your body down and make it more Yin, while Li is Fire, which warms your body and makes it more Yang. Kan and Li are the meth­ ods or causes, while Yin and Yang are the results.
When Kan and Li are adjusted or regulated correctly, Yin and Yang will be balanced
and interact harmoniously.

Qigong practitioners believe that your body is always too Yang, unless you are sick
or have not eaten for
a long time, in which case your body may be more Yin. Since your body is always Yang, it is degenerating and burning our. It is believed that this is the cause of aging. If
you are able to use Water to cool down your body, you will be able to slow down the degeneration process and thereby
lengthen your life. This is the main reason why Chinese Qigong
practi­ tioners have been studying
ways of improving the quality
of the Water in their bodies, and of reducing the quantity
of the Fire. I believe
that as a Qigong practitioner you should always keep this subject at the top of your list for study and research. If you
earnestly ponder and experiment, you will be able to grasp the trick of adjusting them.

If
you want to learn how to adjust them, you must understand that Water and Fire mean many things in your body. The first concerns your
Qi. Qi is classified as Fire or Water. When your Qi is not pure and causes your physical body to heat up and your mental/spiritual body to become unstable
(Yang), it is classified as Fire Qi . The Qi which is pure and is able to cool both your physical
and spiritual bodies (make them more Yin) is considered Water Qi. However,
your
body can never be purely Water. Water can cool
down
the
Fire,
but
it
must never totally quench it, because then you would be dead. It is also said that Fire Qi is able to agitate and stimulate the emotions, and from these emotions generate
a "mind." This mind is called Xin and is considered the Fire mind, Yang mind, or emotional
mind. On the other hand, the mind that Water Qi generates is calm, steady, and wise.
This
mind
is
called
Yi, and is considered
to be the Water mind
or wisdom mind.
If your spirit
is nourished by Fire Qi, although
your spirit may be high, it will be scattered
and confused (a Yang spirit).
Naturally, if the spirit is nourished and raised up by
Water
Qi, it will
be
firm and steady
(a Yin mind). When your
Yi is able to govern your emotional
Xin effectively, your will (strong emotional intention) can be firm.

You can see from this discussion that your Qi is the main cause of the Yin and Yang of your physical
body, your mind, and your spirit. To regulate your body's Yin and Yang, you must learn how to regulate your body's
Water and Fire Qi, but in order to do this efficiently you must know their sources.

Once you have grasped the concepts of Yin-Yang and Kan-Li, then you have
to think about how to adjust
Kan and Li so that you can balance the Yin and Yang in your body.

Theoretically, a Qigong practitioner would like to keep his body in a state
of Yin-Yang balance, which means the "center" point of the Yin
and Yang forces. This center point is com­ monly called
"Wuji" (no extremities ). It is believed
that Wuji is the original, natural state where Yin and Yang are
not distinguished. In the
Wuji state, nature is peaceful
and calm. In the Wuji state, all of the Yin and Yang forces have gradually combined
harmoniously and disappeared. When this Wuji theory is applied to human beings, it is the final goal
of Qigong practice where your mind is neutral
and absolutely calm. The Wuji state makes it possible
for you
to find
the origin of your life, and to combine your Qi with the Qi of nature.

The ultimate goal and purpose
of Taiji Qigong
and Taijiguan is to find this peaceful
and natural state. In order to
reach this goal, you must first understand your body's Yin and Yang so that you can balance them by adjusting
your Kan and Li. Only when your Yin and Yang are balanced will you be able to find the center balance point, the Wuji state.

Theoretically, between the two extremes of Yin and Yang are millions of paths (i.e.,
different Kan and Li methods) which can lead you to the neutral
center. This accounts
for the hundreds of different
styles of Qigong which have been created
over the years. You can see that the theory of Yin and Yang and the methods
of Kan and Li are the root of training
in all Chinese Qigong styles.
Without this
root, the essence
of Qigong practice would be lost.